Jason's Reading Journal

Summer Reading Begins

2005-05-16T18:36:00.000-07:00

I have recently begun my summer reading for my honors classes and they are almost as boring as I anticipated. I am currently reading THE PRINCE by Niccolo Machiavelli. It basically tells how to rule a government and he is teaching a kind how to rule with examples. I am applying it to a classroom setting so it makes sense. A classroom is ruled much like a government.

My Failure

2005-05-15T06:38:00.000-07:00

We have been reading THE GREAT GATSBY in English and I recently took the test on it after I completed it. That was by far the hardest test I have ever taken in there! They asked the most specific questions and they weren't even related to the story. I want to take it again because that would give me an even 100 points but I don't want to fail it again. I got a 6 out of 10 too. I was so close! I thought it was a terrible book anyway. It is basically about two couples that are cheating on eachother with other people. The cheating guy, Tom, doesn't want his wife cheating on him, and the the wife, Daisy, knows her husband is cheating and she can't do anything about it. Gatsby is a bad person, as is Myrtle, for cutting in like that. Not to mention Gatsby is selling fake bonds and whatnot. Daisy is not to blame either. She should have just told Gatsby she can't be with him because she is taken. That's not that hard! The immorality of it all was astonishing. The movie we watched on it was very close to the book and it put everything in perspective. I give the book and movie a 5 at best.

Already Done With My Points

2005-05-05T17:26:00.000-07:00

I finished FRANKENSTEIN and I thought it was an amazing book. My girlfriend, Lindsay, had to read it for school and they had a discussion on who they sympathized with. I had to put a lot of thought into it and I am still unclear. I don't know if I would feel sorry for the monster, or for Dr. Victor Frankenstein. The monster (who's name isn't Frankenstein, he is just referred to as "the monster" or "the daemon") was hideous and shunned by all of mankind. On top of that, he was alone in his species. On the otherhand I feel bad for Victor because the monster he created was such a hideous beast who killed 5 of my closest friends and family members! Ultimately, I would have to sympathize with Victor. He spent the best of his life trying to have a science breakthrough and when he finally succeeds, it is a disaster. The monster went way out of line with his punishment on Victor. At the end, the monster kills his newly married wife and Victor vows on his life to kill the beast in hand to hand combat (knowing full well the monster was superior in everyway). Victor dies before this, however, and the monster kills itself because of the pain he put his creator through. That was one of the saddest endings I have ever read. Seriously, it was. I also finished the forth Harry Potter book and it was awesome as usual. I'll get to that in the next blog.

Catching Up

2005-04-25T18:56:00.000-07:00

I've been pretty much tearing into FRANKENSTEIN. It started off fairly slow and since it's in old, difficult English, it is taking some time and I really have to focus to know what's going on. Dr. Frankenstein is a chemist who devoted several years of his life in hopes of creating a cure to stop things such as aging and sickness and death. He even figured out how to reanimate dead things... Gee, I wonder where this is going? He also longed to have a companion and really wanted a male friend to talk to and share experience with. Obviously, and knowing what I already know, I kind of know where this is going.

So Behind

2005-04-24T14:41:00.000-07:00

As many of you already know from the results in classroom, I finished THE CHAMBER. I was very disappointed in the end, but upon rethinking about it, it needed to be done. I'd hate to do a spoiler, but Sam does end up dying. He even reveals that he was not the one who was guilty but he wouldn't give the name so he died. That was my main accomplishment so far, finishing that book. It's already midterms and I need to do some more blogs! It's amazing how you don't think about doing it until you're already way behind!

Long Time No Blog!

2005-04-13T18:01:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it's been a full month since I last blogged. I lost my papers with my account and password on it. I'm sorry. I'm going to blog maybe 4 days in a row here to catch everything up on what I've been doing with my time. THE CHAMBER, if you remember that far back, (I was in the middle of it) is going smoothly. The monotony of this book is really getting to me. It goes up in action then dies... FAST. I can't stay focused so I added on another, more exciting book. The next Harry Potter. Much better than THE CHAMBER and it gives me a much needed break. I have, um, let's see, NO points so far this 10 week grading period, but they are coming. When they do, I will have my 70 in a day. These two books will do it and the last Harry Potter book will put in the 100's I do believe.

The Never Ending Book

2005-03-12T07:39:00.000-08:00

THE CHAMBER is a good book, don't get me wrong. I've been hacking away at it for a few weeks now at my own pace because I'm in no rush. It just never ends. I am just about half-way through, and it's basically the same stuff throughout. I feel as if I've been reading it for two months. Adam is setting up a case for Sam and they are digging up information on him for the case to stop or delay his death penalty. Now the press is involved and finding out secrets about Adam what he is trying to do and how he is Sam's grandson. Adam is going around and talking to people and trying to set up a case against the gas chamber itself. I think once the trial begins this book will improve.

Not Too Bad So Far

2005-03-06T17:34:00.000-08:00

I'm still reading THE CHAMBER. This Adam guy is talking to Sam and trying to get Sam to agree to allow his company to represent him. Sam is leaning towards allowing Adam to do it since he is his grandson and all. I can't exactly put my finger on whether or not I like this author's style or not. He is all about talking law which isn't bad because that interests me. He just has a different set up of how he writes. So far this book is pretty good. Just three-fourths to go!

Getting Through It

2005-03-03T18:43:00.000-08:00

I've been hacking through THE CHAMBER and I must say, it is going slow. I really hope this book speeds up soon because I am really bored. I am in no rush however, because I already have my points. So far as I can tell, this book is about a guy who was put on death row for setting a bomb and trying to kill a Jewish man and his children. This man was a racist and a Klan member. Now, he is about to die, and his grandson is trying to set up a case to save him.

Finished At Last

2005-02-19T10:50:00.000-08:00

Alright, alright... This book was good. The PELICAN BRIEF was a good change up. Darby didn't die, and she did end up getting together with that reporter. They solved the case, and broke it to the papers and everything. I took the test and got a nice little 10/10. If you read this be careful guys! Some of the questions were very little details I was lucky to remember. This book really ramped up towards the end. I have also begun to tear into my next book to get to my near 70 for the nine weeks. As I said, another Stephen King book. This one is THE GIRL WHO LOVED TOM GORDON. A little girl gets lost on a nature trail and is wondering around for a few days basically. Typical survival book until she sees a bunch mutilated animals and these three cloaked figures talk to her not. Not to mention this girl is crazy and hallucinates up Tom Gordon (her favorite Red Sox baseball player) and she sees him walking beside her. This is a pretty good book too. Half way done in about 4 days. Not to shabby.

Hmm, not too bad.

2005-02-15T16:00:00.000-08:00

I didn't get to read much last week I was so busy, so I decided to wait on the blog. I'll cram a bunch of reading in this week and do two. Basically, Darby is being chased everywhere, and the pieces are finally starting to get put together about who did it! About time too because I was getting a little bored. If Darby Shaw dies, this is a terrible, terrible book. I would like to see her and her bodyguard/reporter friend get together. They seem to have good chemistry and they are always together in the book running away from the bad guys! I am liking this new style and maybe I'll have to consider more books like it.

Still Chipping Away

2005-02-03T06:30:00.000-08:00

I am still working on the PELICAN BRIEF and it is really picking up. Darby Shaw is being chased by people that want her dead for her brief on who she believes killed two of the supreme court justices. The FBI can't figure it out, and a law student has an idea that has many people angry and wanting her dead. They won't tell me who she thinks did it, yet, but she doesn't think it's who it really is, if you follow me. She is now being hunted by the actual assassin, Khamel, who did the original killing of the justices. He is the best killer in the world and he does everything perfectly, yet Darby is still avoiding everyone by luck. I don't know how they could possibly drag this story line out any further. They better not just stall for time and bore me. If they keep going in circles I'm going to be upset. I am only half way done. As I get bored with this book at times, I am thinking of my next book. Most likely yet another Stephen King. That guys is awesome and everyone knows it. Way better than Dean Koontz that's for sure. Yeah, 8th period, I said it!

A Brave New Step

2005-01-25T17:07:00.000-08:00

As the title of my post reads, I am taking a bold new step in my reading. I am going to take a break from my beloved style of fiction and try to expand my reading by choosing different kinds of books. My second selection: THE PELICAN BRIEF. I don't know how this is going to go (hopefully well) but I'm going to give it a try. I need some new material. I am only on page 25 or something (just started today) and it deals heavily with law and a corrupt system in the supreme courts, and an angry population. In other words, it sounds pretty good just as Mr. Miller said it would. (He suggested it by the way.) Many peoples' rights are being pushed aside for someone's own reasons and its not right. Even if I don't like this book, I'm going to finish it. I need to. Partially because I want to try reading new things, and partially because I need the points! I just read an awesome book on running called ONCE A RUNNER and it was amazing. I have been reading it for a week or two and I was completely enthralled. It was extremely motivating and I'll stick with my running with that book to help me through these freezing winter days! It wasn't worth any points unfortunately, but it was worth the time spent. Hence, "reading for enjoyment." This book was also in my bold new step because it is a book based on real events (kind of) but it had several fictional characters involved too, doing their own thing. A nonrunner might not appreciate this book, but a true runner would make it their bible of winter running! Once again, I'll keep reading, and keep you informed on my progress!

Fiction's My Favorite

2005-01-19T16:39:00.000-08:00

I would have to say my favorite works are definately fiction. Like other people my age, I like to be able to get away from the "normal" world and enter one with monsters, dragons, magic and things like that. That's why I really like the Harry Potter books. They have all the elements of good, mythical-based fiction stories. I have been reading a lot of Stephen King and Dean Koontz as well. I simply adore King's works. I thought THE TOMMYKNOCKERS was an amazing book, but my favorite of all time has to be IT which I read this summer. I've also read CARRIE and FIRESTARTER (rocking book, check it out!) Dean Koontz's book, SOLE SURVIVOR, was pretty good too, and that lead to my reading of TICKTOCK, which was alright. I'll keep you posted on my thoughts and ideas.